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The  Christ! 

%  Movement 


IN  THE  UNIVERSITIES  OP 

America 
Eti  rope 

anil  Asia 


. .  .  .ADDRESSES  BY 

JOHN  R.  MpTT 

JAMES  B.  REYNOLDS  .  . . 

LUTHER  D.  WISHARD  .  . , 


— 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MOVEMENT 


IN  THE 

UNIVERSITIES  OF  AMERICA,  EUROPE 

AND  ASIA. 


ADDRESSES  BY 

JOHN  R.  MOTT, 

JAMES  B.  REYNOLDS,  and 

LUTHER  D,  WISHARD. 


DELIVERED  BEFORE 

THE  UNIVERSITIES’  CONGRESS, 

HELD  UNDER  THE  AUSPICES  OF  THE  WORLD’S  CONGRESS  AUXILIARY  OF  THE 
WORLD’S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION. 


CHICAGO. 

R.  R.  DONNELLEY  &  SONS  COMPANY,  PRINTERS. 

1893. 


PUBLISHED  BY 


THE  INTERNATIONAL  COMMITTEE  OF 

YOUNG  MEN’S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATIONS. 

40  East  Twenty-Third  St  ,  New  York. 


a 


THE  OMNIPRESENCE,  I  HAD  ALMOST  SAID  THE  OMNIPOTENCE, 
OF  THE  YOUNG  MEN’S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION  IS  THE  GREAT 
FACT  IN  THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  OF  OUR  COLLEGES  TO-DAY.” 


ROSWELL  D.  HITCHCOCK, 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2020  with  funding  from 
Columbia  University  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/christianmovemenOOunse 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  most  significant  fact  in  the  history  of  the 
Christian  Church  during  the  last  quarter  of  the 
century  is  the  revival  of  vital  piety  in  the  uni¬ 
versities  and  colleges  of  America.  This  revival 
has  not  been  spasmodic  and  emotional,  but  has 
grown  steadily  and  healthfully,  taking  hold  of 
the  personal  lives  and  moulding  the  characters  of 
the  students  until  it  has  wrought  a  revolution  in 
the  sentiment  and  life  of  the  great  student  body. 
This  body  of  seventy  thousand  men  comprises 
the  pick  and  flower  of  American  young  man¬ 
hood.  To-day  at  least  fifty-five  per  cent  of 
them  are  professed  disciples  of  Jesus  Christ, 
while  ninety  per  cent  are,  by  inheritance  and 
sympathy,  Christians.  In  the  whole  body  of 
American  young  men  not  over  five  per  cent  are 
professing  Christians.  The  taunt  of  the  infidel, 
that  the  Christian  religion  is  losing  its  hold  on 
the  educated  men  of  our  day,  is  a  lie.  The  pro¬ 
portion  of  avowed  Christians  among  the  students 
is  ten  times  as  great  as  that  among  the  whole 
body  of  young  Americans. 

This  revival  has  taken  corporate  form  in  the 
Inter -Collegiate  Young  Men’s  Christian  Asso- 

5 


6 


INTRODUCTION. 


ciation,  and  in  the  Students’  Volunteer  Move¬ 
ment  for  Foreign  Missions,  which  is  a  branch  of 
the  Association.  It  has  banded  the  students  of 
America  together  for  Christ  and  the  spread  of 
His  kingdom. 

It  has  not  been  content  with  this,  it  has  sent 
ambassadors  across  the  sea  with  words  of  Chris¬ 
tian  greeting  and  exhortation  to  the  students  of 
the  universities  of  Europe,  who  have  welcomed 
them  and  have  enlisted  in  the  movement. 

With  that  grand  and  compelling  enthusiasm 
which  conquers  all  difficulties  and  refuses  to 
believe  any  good  thing  impossible,  that  irresist¬ 
ible  and  dauntless  purpose  which  one  has  called 
“The  madness  of  young  men,”  the  International 
Committee  of  the  Young  Men’s  Christian  Asso¬ 
ciations  has  invaded  Asia,  and,  in  spite  of  dis¬ 
tances,  boundaries  and  strange  tongues,  has, 
through  its  messengers  and  heralds,  proclaimed 
to  the  great  host  of  students  in  those  far  lands 
the  Fatherhood  of  God  and  the  Brotherhood  of 
men  through  His  Son  Jesus  Christ. 

The  story  of  this  great  movement  reads  like 
a  romance,  but  is,  in  truth,  history.  It  stirs  the 
blood  and  lifts  up  the  heart,  and  we  doubt  not 
that  all  who  read  it  here  will,  with  us,  thank  God 
and  take  courage. 

James  L.  Houghteling. 

Chicago,  August  10,  1893. 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 

The  American  Inter-Collegiate  Young  Men’s 

Christian  Association.  John  R.  Mott  .  g 

Facts  and  Forces  in  the  Religious  Life  of  the 
Universities  of  Europe.  James  B.  Rey¬ 
nolds  . 17 

Christianity  in  the  Universities  of  Asia.  Luther 

D.  Wishard .  28 


— 


. 


'  ■ 


. 


■ 

- 


THE  AMERICAN  INTER -COLLEGIATE 

YOUNG  MEN’S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 


John  R.  Mott. 

The  Greatest  Student  Movement  in  the  World. 

It  is  a  striking  fact  that  the  tie  of  associated 
Christian  effort  has  united  more  college  men 
than  any  other  bond.  We  have  all  felt  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  athletic  spirit  which  is  spread¬ 
ing  so  rapidly  through  the  colleges  of  the 
country,  but  we  can  think  of  no  athletic  organiza¬ 
tion  which  brings  together  representatives  of 
more  than  thirty  colleges.  We  have  been  im¬ 
pressed  with  the  intense  competition  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  the  contests  of  the  Inter-State  Ora¬ 
torical  Association,  and  recognize  that  it  has 
stimulated  more  interest  in  oratory  and  debating 
in  this  than  in  any  other  section,  but  we  remem¬ 
ber  that  this  association  includes  only  a  part  of 
the  institutions  of  higher  learning  in  the  few 
states  of  the  upper  Mississippi  Valley.  The 
extension  of  the  college  fraternity  system  has 
been  remarkable,  but  there  is  no  fraternity  as  yet 
which  has  chapters  in  one  hundred  institutions. 
Is  it  not,  therefore,  significant  that  there  is  a 
religious  organization  which  unites  in  its  member- 


9 


10 


AMERICA. 


ship  fully  30,000  students  in  450  of  the  Amer¬ 
ican  and  Canadian  colleges  and  universities  ? 

The  Inter-Collegiate  Young  Men’s  Christian 
Association  is  truly  the  greatest  student  move¬ 
ment  on  this  continent.  Further,  Professor 
Henry  Drummond  was  right  when,  speaking  of 
this  movement  less  than  two  weeks  ago,  he  said: 
“There  is  nothing  like  it  among  the  students  of 
the  world.” 

Rapid  Extension. 

The  growth  of  this  movement  has  been  very 
rapid.  Only  sixteen  years  ago,  when  a  few 
students  at  Princeton  conceived  the  idea  of  an 
inter-collegiate  Christian  movement,  there  were 
less  than  thirty  college  Christian  associations  in 
existence.  Now  there  are  more  than  that  in  the 
single  state  of  Pennsylvania,  or  of  Ohio,  or  of 
Illinois.  In  the  Yale  association  alone  last  year 
there  were  very  nearly,  if  not  quite,  as  many 
college  men  as  there  were  in  1877  in  all  the 
Christian  associations  of  America. 

There  must  be  causes  to  explain  the  marked 
development  of  this  movement  and  its  hold  on 
so  many  thousands  of  college  men.  We  shall 
find  adequate  reasons  if  we  examine  its  purpose. 
What  is  the  purpose  of  the  Inter-Collegiate 
Young  Men’s  Christian  Association  ? 

To  Win  Students  to  Christ. 

In  the  first  place,  this  movement  strives  to 


AMERICA. 


I  I 

lead  college  men  to  become  followers  of  Jesus 
Christ.  During  the  sixteen  years  of  its  life,  at 
least  twenty  thousand  students  have  been  led 
through  its  efforts  to  become  Christians.  Within 
the  college  year  which  has  just  closed,  over 
twenty-eight  hundred  men  made  this  supreme 
decision — a  larger  number  than  during  any  other 
year  in  the  history  of  American  colleges. 
Do  we  catch  the  real  meaning  of  these 
figures  ?  A  bishop  of  one  of  our  churches  said 
to  me :  “  If  you  save  one  college  man  for  God 
you  place  in  this  world  a  force  which  will  coun¬ 
teract  the  influence  of  a  thousand  illiterate, 
vicious  men/’  Thus  on  this  line  of  their  pur¬ 
pose  alone  the  associations  are  dealing  not  in 
addition  but  in  multiplication. 

Guards  Hen  against  Temptation. 

The  work  of  this  movement  does  not  cease 
when  it  leads  a  student  to  accept  Christ.  It  only 
begins  then.  It  seeks  to  guard  him.  Against 
what  ?  Against  the  many  bodily  temptations 
which  beset  the  college  man  as  fiercely  as  any 
other  young  man ;  and,  moreover,  against  the 
more  subtle  and  insidious  temptations  in  the 
realm  of  the  intellect  which  assail  college  men 
as  no  other  class  of  men.  This  phase  of  the 
association’s  purpose  is  often  characterized  as 
“higher  ground  work.”  In  Mr.  Sayford’s  terse 
language,  it  recognizes  that  the  great  need  in  the 


12 


AMERICA. 


colleges  is  “more  man  rather  than  more  men.” 
The  association,  by  its  quiet  yet  determined  influ¬ 
ence,  wages  uncompromising  warfare  against 
intemperance,  gambling,  impurity,  dishonesty, 
infidelity,  and  hypocrisy.  President  Jordan,  of 
Stanford  University,  told  me  when  I  was  on  the 
Coast,  that  this  object  of  the  organization,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  others,  appealed  to  him  as  one  of 
very  great  importance. 

Develops  Men  Spiritually. 

In  order  that  men  may  be  guarded  against 
the  forces  of  evil  within  and  without,  the  associa¬ 
tions  lay  great  emphasis  on  the  development  of 
the  spiritual  life.  Various  efforts  are  put  forth 
in  this  direction — chief  among  them,  the  promo¬ 
tion  of  Bible  study.  Even  five  years  ago  there 
were  probably  not  more  than  two  thousand 
young  men  in  voluntary  Bible  classes.  Last  year 
there  were  nearly  eight  thousand  in  such  classes 
— an  increase  of  three  thousand  over  the  preced¬ 
ing  year.  Reference  to  Bible  study  suggests 
what  is  being  done  by  the  associations  to  hasten 
the  introduction  of  the  study  of  the  English 
Bible  into  the  college  curricula  of  this  country. 
Already  they  have  accomplished  this  in  the  case 
of  several  leading  institutions.  It  is  an  item  of 
unusual  significance  that  within  the  past  few 
months  two  of  the  state  universities  have  taken 
this  advance  step. 


AMERICA. 


13 


Training  for  Christian  Service. 

Involved  in  the  development  of  college  men 
spiritually  is  a  further  object  of  the  associations 
— to  train  them  for  Christian  service.  The  asso¬ 
ciations  insist  that  the  Christian  college  graduate, 
no  matter  what  his  life-work  is  to  be,  should 
make  his  influence  tell  as  a  Christian  leader  in 
his  community.  During  the  last  sixteen  years 
over  sixty  thousand  students  have  gone  out  from 
these  associations  into  business  and  professional 
life,  not  only  recognizing  this  responsibility,  but 
in  a  majority  of  cases  actually  assuming  it.  They 
are  just  becoming  the  lay  leaders  of  laymen  in 
this  age  of  laymen.  It  would  be  difficult  to  over¬ 
estimate  the  value  of  this  contribution  to  the 
Christian  forces  of  our  day. 

Devotion  of  Life  to  Christian  Work. 

The  college  associations  are  not  satisfied,  how¬ 
ever,  with  training  men  for  Christian  service  as 
laymen  only.  Their  aim  is  to  so  present  the 
claims  of  the  ministry,  foreign  missions,  associa¬ 
tion  work,  and  city  missions,  as  to  induce  many 
of  the  students  who  are  best  qualified  to  devote 
their  entire  time  to  such  forms  of  Christian  work. 
Since  its  inception  the  inter-collegiate  movement 
has  influenced  three  thousand  of  its  members  to 
enter  the  ministry.  Of  the  five  thousand  young 
men  in  the  colleges  of  the  United  States  and 
Canada  who  expect  to  enter  the  ministry,  it  is 


14 


AMERICA. 


safe  to  say  that  a  very  large  number  have  been 
influenced  in  their  decision  by  the  association. 
This  object  of  the  association  has  made  possible 
another  wonderful  result  within  the  last  seven 
years.  It  has  given  rise  to  the  Student  Volunteer 
Movement  for  Foreign  Missions,  which  is  to-day 
an  organic  department  of  the  Inter-Collegiate 
Young  Men’s  Christian  Association.  The  Volun¬ 
teer  Movement  includes  thousands  of  students 
who  have  decided  to  become  foreign  missionaries. 
Over  six  hundred  of  their  number  have  already 
sailed  to  the  foreign  field,  under  the  auspices  of 
the  church  missionary  societies.  With  how  much 
more  force  may  we  not  now  repeat  the  question 
which  Dr.  McCosh  asked  concerning  this  volun¬ 
teer  movement  before  it  had  been  in  progress  a 
year:  ‘’Has  any  such  offering  of  living  young 
men  and  women  been  presented  in  our  age,  in 
our  country,  in  any  age,  or  in  any  country,  since 
the  day  of  Pentecost  ?” 

World  Wide  Union  of  Christian  Students. 

The  fundamental  purpose  of  the  inter-col¬ 
legiate  movement  is  to  unite  the  Christian 
students  of  the  world.  It  is  uniting  the  Christian 
students  of  all  sections  of  our  continent;  so  that 
more  and  more  they  are  coming  to  recognize  that 
in  the  realm  of  Christian  activity  there  cannot  be 
Dominion  and  Republic,  North  and  South,  East 
and  West:  “  but  Christ  is  all,  and  in  all.”  It  is 


AMERICA. 


15 


uniting  all  classes  of  Christian  students;  so  that 
the  academy  student  and  the  post-graduate,  the 
law  student,  the  medical  student,  and  the  one  in 
the  divinity  hall  have  a  common  purpose  as  they 
enter  the  conflicts  of  the  world.  It  is  uniting 
the  organized  bodies  of  Christian  students  of  all 
lands.  Gladstone,  in  his  lecture  on  “  The  Work 
of  Universities,”  speaking  of  the  influence  of  the 
universities  in  the  Middle  Ages,  says:  “They 
established,  so  to  speak,  a  telegraph  for  the 
mind ;  and  all  the  elements  of  intellectual  cul¬ 
ture,  scattered  throughout  Europe,  were  brought 
by  them  into  near  communion.  They  established 
a  brotherhood  of  the  understanding.”  So,  I 
have  often  thought,  this  inter-collegiate  move¬ 
ment  has  established  a  telegraph  in  things 
spiritual,  and  the  different  ideas  concerning 
Christian  life  and  work  and  study  wrought  out 
in  the  experience  of  groups  of  Christian  students 
scattered  all  over  the  world,  have  been  brought 
by  it  into  near  communion.  It  has  established 
a  student  brotherhood  in  Jesus  Christ.  More 
than  all  this,  yet  involved  in  it,  this  movement, 
as  no  other  agency,  is  uniting  in  spirit  the  various 
denominations  of  the  Church  of  Christ.  It  is 
firmly  planted  in  the  colleges  and  universities  of 
forty  or  more  of  the  leading  evangelical  denom¬ 
inations.  In  its  ranks  to-day  are  the  coming 
ministry  of  the  Church  in  North  America.  They 


i6 


AMERICA. 


are  working  together  in  harmony  and  with 
power.  So  they  will  continue  to  do  as  they 
leave  college  walls.  They  already  present  the 
most  telling  object  lesson  in  Christian  unity  that 
the  world  affords.  Never  after  these  years  of 
Christian  fellowship  and  associated  effort  within 
the  college  will  they  cease  to  demonstrate  to 
the  world  that  “There  is  one  body  and  one 
Spirit,  even  as  also  ye  were  called  in  one  hope 
of  your  calling;  one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  bap¬ 
tism,  one  God  and  Father  of  all,  who  is  over  all, 
and  through  all,  and  in  all.” 

Christ  the  Centre  of  the  Movement. 

The  great  uniting  force  of  the  inter-collegiate 
movement  is  Jesus  Christ.  Without  apology  or 
compromise  this  movement  exalts  Him  as  Lord. 
He  alone  affords  a  sufficient  explanation  of  its 
rapid  extension,  its  marked  development,  and  its 
enduring  achievements.  The  associations  go  to 
Him  for  the  methods  which  succeed.  Of  Him 
they  catch  the  spirit  that  overcomes.  From  Him 
they  draw  their  life.  Linked  to  Him  they  shall 
abide,  for  “Jesus  Christ  is  the  same  yesterday 
and  to-day,  yea  and  forever.” 


FACTS  AND  FORCES  IN  THE  RELIGIOUS 
LIFE  OF  THE  UNIVERSITIES  OF  EUROPE. 


James  B.  Reynolds. 

In  describing  the  religious  life  of  the  univer- 
rities  of  Europe,  two  broad  distinctions  must  be 
drawn  between  their  spirit  and  that  in  the  higher 
institutions  of  learning  in  America.  One  results 
from  the  general  difference  of  life  and  thought  in 
America  and  in  Europe,  the  other  is  incidental 
to  the  political  and  educational  systems  of  the 
two  countries. 

In  America  thought  is  expressed  through 
activity,  in  Europe  activity  through  thought.  In 
America,  if  a  man  makes  a  discovery  he  imme¬ 
diately  embodies  it  in  a  machine,  or  he  organizes 
a  society  and  launches  a  propaganda  to  sustain 
it.  In  Europe,  he  merely  writes  a  book,  and 
trusts  to  the  diffusion  of  knowledge  to  make  it 
known.  In  America  this  is  reflected  in  the 
practical  organizing  spirit  found  among  the 
students.  Awakened  life  leads  at  once  to  earnest 
endeavor.  In  Europe  it  more  probably  leads  to 
serious  thought  among  those  immediately 
affected.  This  produces  greater  conscientious¬ 
ness  and  deeper  spirituality,  but  is  much  less 
certain  to  achieve  a  “forward  movement.” 


17 


1 8 


EUROPE. 


Again,  the  large  university  centres  of  Europe 
exercise  more  influence  over  the  smaller  ones 
than  in  America,  and  this  influence  is  conserva¬ 
tive,  tending  to  retain  old  institutions  and  to 
check  new  movements.  The  American  president 
of  a  college  in  which  the  entire  faculty  consists 
of  his  conjugal  partner  and  himself,  will  discourse 
on  “our  peculiar  heritage,”  “the  university 
spirit,”  and  “our  special  mission,”  almost  wholly 
disregarding  the  example  of  more  pretentious 
institutions  in  the  immediate  or  remote  vicinity. 
In  Europe,  the  universities  of  Paris,  Berlin  and 
Vienna  have  an  overweaning  influence,  and  their 
example  counts  for  more  than  that  of  any  univer¬ 
sity  in  this  country.  For  both  of  these  reasons 
a  new  movement  in  Europe  acts  more  slowly, 
and  its  results  are  much  less  susceptible  of  tabu¬ 
lation,  because  less  organic  and  less  visible. 

Yet  movement  in  religion,  as  in  other  matters, 
has  been  steady  if  slow.  The  efforts  of  men 
with  high  purpose  and  a  missionary  spirit  have 
told  there  as  here.  Though  the  Latin  tongue  no 
longer  serves  as  a  medium  of  communication  for 
the  scholarly  world,  the  scientific  demand  that 
the.  scholar  shall  look  for  knowledge  to  every 
part  of  the  world  has  opened  the  door  to  the 
influx  of  spiritual  truth  and  spiritual  life.  Some 
sectarian  views  may  be  advanced  by  strengthen¬ 
ing  local  prejudice  and  elevating  national  bar- 


EUROPE. 


19 


iiers,  but  such  outlooks  see  Christ  only  on  one 
side,  and  the  great  structure  of  Christendom  only 
at  a  corner.  The  last  ten  years  have  witnessed 
an  opening  of  many  doors  to  the  reception  of  a 
more  active  Christian  spirit  in  the  universities  of 
Europe,  and  the  initiation  of  many  practical 
religious  movements.  I  shall  present  these  move¬ 
ments  according  to  their  most  notable  manifesta¬ 
tions. 

Extension  of  Christian  Fellowship. 

Five  years  ago  Oxford  and  Cambridge  were 
the  only  universities  in  all  Europe  from  which 
delegates  met  regularly  to  consider  their  com¬ 
mon  Christian  interests,  and  even  there  it  was  only 
among  a  certain  element  in  the  Established 
Church.  The  question  of  developing  such  rela¬ 
tions  seems  never  seriously  to  have  been  raised, 
or,  if  raised,  to  have  been  abandoned  as  imprac¬ 
ticable.  In  visiting  a  leading  university  in  North¬ 
ern  Europe  I  was  surprised  by  the  request  to 
begin  with  an  account  of  the  religious  activities 
of  the  nearest  university  as  the  most  certain  topic 
of  interest  to  the  audience  of  students.  The 
objection  that  it  was  an  impertinence  for  one  who 
had  come  four  thousand  miles  to  begin  by  inform¬ 
ing  them  with  regard  to  the  condition  of  their 
nearest  neighbors  was  overruled,  and  when  the 
advice  was  followed  it  was  found  that  no  inap¬ 
propriateness  was  felt,  and  I  was  immediately 


20 


EUROPE. 


accepted  as  an  authority.  At  the  close  of  the 
meeting  numerous  questions  were  asked  of  the 
stranger  regarding  their  sister  university,  in  which 
the  students  seemed  to  feel  an  interest  only 
equaled  by  their  ignorance. 

Yet  this  very  spirit  showed  the  time  was  ripe 
for  a  change.  In  different  countries  I  found  men 
already  desiring  a  union  of  the  Christian  students 
in  the  continental  universities.  My  three  years 
of  visitation  among  the  universities  of  Europe, 
and  constant  communication  of  the  best  tidings 
from  one  place  to  another,  seemed  to  stimulate 
this  aroused  interest.  An  equally  potent  factor 
was  the  visitation  of  strong  delegations  of  foreign 
students  to  our  annual  Students’  Conference  at 
Northfield,  Massachusetts.  In  different  years 
England,  Scotland,  Ireland,  Sweden,  France, 
Germany  and  Holland  were  represented.  In 
several  countries  advice  was  asked  about  opening 
similar  national  conferences  of  students.  The 
annual  conference  between  the  Christian  students 
of  Oxford  and  Cambridge  broadened  its  basis  at 
home,  and  extended  invitations  to  the  universities 
of  Ireland  and  Scotland,  which  were  promptly 
and  cordially  accepted.  As  a  result  these  gather¬ 
ings  gained  in  influence  and  spiritual  power.  In 
Scandinavia  two  summer  conferences  of  students 
have  been  held.  Large  delegations  were  present 
from  Copenhagen,  Christiania,  Upsala  and  Lund. 


EUROPE. 


21 


The  attendance  at  the  first  numbered  one  hundred 
and  seventy.  The  second  was  still  larger.  The 
former  gathering  was  held  in  Denmark ;  the  lat¬ 
ter,  strangely  enough,  on  an  old  warship  anchor¬ 
ed  in  the  harbor  of  Christiania.  The  students 
bunked  below  decks,  and  responded  to  the  bells 
for  meetings  on  the  quarter-deck.  Fellowship 
and  good  feeling  abounded,  and  the  results  were 
most  decided  and  beneficial. 

In  Germany,  during  the  last  three  years, 
annual  conferences  of  students  have  been  held, 
with  an  attendance  of  fifty  to  seventy-five  uni¬ 
versity  men.  Though  not  so  large  as  those  of 
Scandinavia,  they  represented  a  triumph  over 
greater  difficulties,  and  were  nearly,  if  not  quite, 
as  significant.  These  all  showed  “the  larger 
heart,  the  broader  view,”  and  the  deepened  sense 
of  real  Christian  brotherhood. 

Work  Within  the  University. 

Much  of  quiet,  personal  effort  cannot  be 
recorded.  Such  work  will  always  be  done 
wherever  a  single  student  has  a  strong  sense  of 
the  blessing  of  the  Gospel  to  himself  and  a  reali¬ 
zation  of  his  personal  responsibility  to  share  the 
best  gifts.  United  effort  is  more  visible.  In 
such  the  influences  of  the  conferences  appeared 
as  a  notable  factor.  When  seventy-six  students 
from  Christiania  came  to  the  first  Scandinavian 
conference  they  immediately  asked  themselves, 


22 


EUROPE. 


“Has  Christianity  such  a  strength  in  our  Univer¬ 
sity  as  would  be  represented  even  by  the  united 
effort  of  this  delegation?”  and  they  were  com¬ 
pelled  to  admit  that  it  had  not.  This  resulted  in 
strengthening  the  local  associations  or  unions 
and  in  an  enlargement  of  their  membership. 
Another  result  was  the  same  which  has  been  the 
best  fruit  of  these  gatherings  in  our  country, 
namely,  the  comparing  of  notes,  which  led  to 
the  discovery  that  the  local  work  was  generally 
very  one-sided,  many  things  not  being  done 
which  might  be  done.  In  one  university  one 
good  movement  was  being  carried  on,  in  another 
a  different  line  of  effort  was  being  emphasized. 
Both  had  a  place  in  each.  A  work  which  had 
obtained  marked  success  and  met  a  spiritual  need 
was  certainly  worth  trying.  This  produced  a 
careful  consideration  of  the  place  which  a  Chris¬ 
tian  association  should  occupy  in  a  university, 
and  a  careful  examination  of  the  voluntary 
religious  privileges  which  should  and  could  be 
provided  by  the  students  themselves.  An 
emphasis  of  the  duty  to  new  students  has  led  to 
special  efforts  in  Glasgow,  Christiania  and  Paris. 
Berlin  has  strengthened  Bible  study  and  provided 
general  gatherings  for  students,  which  have  been 
largely  attended.  The  Cambridge  Inter-Collegiate 
Union  in  spite  of  many  hindrances  has  sought  to 
broaden  its  fellowship  and  work.  At  Paris  a  stu- 


EUROPE.  23 

dent  Christian  centre  has  been  established  in  the 
midst  of  the  Latin  Quarter,  where  strangers  may 
come  and  receive  counsel  and  help,  and  where 
men  like-minded  may  gain  spiritual  strength  to 
resist  the  temptations  and  dissipations  of  such  city 
life. 

As  a  movement  of  independent  strength  may 
be  named  the  weekly  gatherings  of  students  in 
Edinburgh  addressed  by  Prof.  Henry  Drummond, 
of  Glasgow.  These  meetings  are  held  during  the 
winter,  and  have  an  average  attendance  of  five 
hundred  to  six  hundred  students.  Many  have 
gained  from  them  a  spiritual  quickening,  not  a 
few  have  found  here  the  true  Light  which  lighten¬ 
ed  the  whole  world,  and  large  numbers  have  been 
influenced  to  go  out  into  the  byways  and  hedges 
and  work  for  their  less  fortunate  brethren.  Dub¬ 
lin  has  been  quickened  in  similar  lines,  and  now 
the  good  tidings  of  successful  endeavor  pass  more 
easily  from  one  place  to  another. 

Work  Outside  the  University. 

The  spirit  which  awakened  much  of  the  activ¬ 
ity  described  was  a  thoughtful  one.  Life  and  ac¬ 
tion  have  been  stimulated  by  a  more  vital  theol¬ 
ogy.  Likewise  a  new  school  of  political  economy 
has  aroused  interest  in  human  conditions  and  in¬ 
spired  reform  measures  of  a  new  character.  Po¬ 
litical  science  as  well  as  Christianity  has  begun  to 
teach  the  brotherhood  of  man.  In  the  universi- 


24 


EUROPE. 


ties  men  gathering  inspiration  and  knowledge 
from  both  sources  have  sought  in  the  midst  of 
their  studies  or  of  their  professional  careers  to 
give  something  of  themselves  to  their  fellow  men. 

College  missions  have  sprung  up  at  Oxford  and 
Cambridge.  Students  of  several  other  universi¬ 
ties  are  showing  increased  enthusiasm  in  '  such 
effort.  It  seems  stronger  than  much  similar  work 
in  the  past  in  that  men  are  devoting  to  it  scien¬ 
tific  as  well  as  earnest  enthusiasm.  They  inform 
themselves  on  the  principles  of  sound  philanthropy, 
correct  sociology  and  good  government,  and 
aid  their  fellow  men  in  every  sphere  of  life. 
They  seek  to  impart  a  new  motive,  the  Christian 
motive  of  life,  but  also  to  teach  people  how  to 
live,  believing  this  to  be  essential,  and  that  with¬ 
out  such  aid  religious  exhortation  to  the  poor  is 
little  more  than  mockery. 

This  spirit  is  most  embodied  in  the  University 
Settlements  whose  idea  is  to  gather  small  groups 
of  university  men  in  one  of  the  poorest  quarters 
of  the  city  in  which  they  live.  Neighborly  friend¬ 
ship  is  the  basis  of  all  work.  The  Settlement  be¬ 
comes  primarily  a  social  centre.  Educational, 
religious,  moral  and  philanthropic  efforts  are  un¬ 
dertaken  as  circumstances  may  offer.  The  gen¬ 
eral  principle  is  followed  to  supplement  rather 
than  compete  with  existing  agencies  of  reform. 
Toynbee  Hall,  Oxford  House  and  Mansfield 


EUROPE. 


25 


House  in  London,  and  the  Settlements  of  Glas¬ 
gow  and  Edinburgh  are  the  best  exponents  of 
this  movement.  At  Amsterdam,  Holland,  a  sim¬ 
ilar  house  has  been  founded.  In  Berlin  the  ques¬ 
tion  is  being  agitated,  while  in  Copenhagen  and 
Upsala  voluntary  educational  work  of  value  is 
done  among  the  poor  by  the  students.  This  work 
is  growing  and  its  caution  and  modesty  are  two 
of  its  most  hopeful  characteristics. 

In  these  movements  the  united  Christian  en¬ 
deavor  of  the  students  of  Europe  at  the  present 
time  is  best  summarized.  Marked  deficiencies 
might  be  noticed  ;  skepticism  is  rife ;  immorality 
abounds ;  pessimism  casts  a  pall  of  hopelessness 
over  many  of  the  brightest  minds,  and  these  evils 
are  deeply  rooted.  Each  has  its  complete  philos¬ 
ophy  to  which  its  followers  subscribe  without 
shame  or  concealment.  But  the  Christian  move¬ 
ments  are  also  grounded  in  strong  philosophy  and 
deep  convictions.  They  possess  likewise  enthu¬ 
siasm  and  unselfish  consecration  which  the  others 
lack. 

Comparing  the  student  Christian  movement  in 
Europe  with  that  in  America,  we  find  in  Europe 
stronger  thought,  in  America  greater  practical 
efficiency.  Each  has  contributed  of  its  best  to 
the  other.  The  visits  of  Rev.  B.  F.  Meyer,  Prof. 
Henry  Drummond  and  Rev.  Monroe  Gibson,  as 
well  as  the  foreign  student  delegations,  to  North- 


26 


EUROPE. 


field,  have  strengthened  the  spiritual  thought  of 
those  gatherings.  The  University  Extension  and 
Settlement  movements  have  come  to  us  from 
across  the  ocean. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  example  of  the  Chris¬ 
tian  union  of  our  university  men  through  the 
College  Young  Men’s  Christian  Association  has 
done  much  to  bring  the  Christian  students  of 
Europe  together.  The  Student  Volunteer  Mis¬ 
sionary  Movement  now  has  its  traveling  secretary 
in  Great  Britain.  In  my  own  tour  of  three  years 
I  visited  forty-four  universities  having  87,527  stu¬ 
dents,  was  present  and  spoke  at  most  of  the  con¬ 
ferences  I  have  named,  helped  in  the  foundation 
of  the  Paris  Students’  Association,  and  saw  it 
firmly  established  after  much  wavering.  At  one 
university  I  was  told  that  the  mere  communication 
of  facts  and  suggestions  as  to  their  adaptation  to 
European  needs  had  produced  an  epoch  in  the 
religious  history  of  the  institution.  For  the  con¬ 
ferences  I  found  that  Northfield  experience  ena¬ 
bled  me  to  give  valuable  aid  in  the  preliminary 
arrangements  which  guaranteed  their  success. 
Such  aid  was  welcomed  and  even  earnestly  so¬ 
licited. 

These  samples  of  the  work  done  are  quoted 
merely  to  show  the  benefit  of  having  one  of  our 
representatives  in  the  field.  I  believe  our  student 
work  should  be  permanently  represented  in  Eu- 


EUROPE. 


2 ; 


rope.  We  have  annually  three  thousand  American 
students  in  Germany ;  one  thousand  American 
students  are  found  every  year  in  Paris.  Others 
gather  at  Vienna,  Rome,  Geneva  and  Montpellier. 
Our  interest  in  them  alone  should  be  sufficient  to 
demand  such  a  worker.  He  would  be  able  to  bring 
them  in  contact  with  the  best  Christian  forces  in 
the  universities  where  they  might  study  besides 
aiding  them  directly.  He  would  also  continue 
the  cooperative  Christian  relations  with  the  Stu¬ 
dent  Associations  in  the  European  universities 
themselves.  He  would  have  opportunities  such 
as  I  have  enjoyed  to  introduce  to  our  Associa¬ 
tions  European  university  men  coming  to  this 
country  to  reside,  and  thus  to  start  them  in  the 
right  direction. 

And  in  the  future,  as  well  as  in  the  past,  our 
mutual  experience  would  be  mutually  beneficial. 
Let  us  keep  open  avenues  of  communication,  ear¬ 
nestly  seeking  the  best  gifts  of  the  experience  of 
our  maturer  neighbors,  and  exerting  ourselves  that 
we  may  impart  the  best  results  of  our  own  active 
and  changing  life. 


CHRISTIANITY  IN  THE  UNIVERSITIES  OF 

ASIA. 


Luther  D.  Wishard. 

Influence  of  Student  Class. 

Asia’s  chief  imports  from  the  West  are 
religion,  commerce  and  education.  Were  the 
more  intelligent  Oriental,  who  does  not  regard 
money  as  the  summum  bonum,  called  upon  to  ex¬ 
press  his  opinion  of  the  three  in  terms  of  com¬ 
parison,  he  would  doubtless  respond,  “  Religion 
good,  commerce  better,  education  best.”  Certain 
it  is  that  he  has  imported  nothing  from  the  West 
which  is  so  widely  incorporated  into  Asiatic  life 
as  our  systems  of  education. 

The  student  class  already  constitutes  a  large 
and  influential  element  in  the  population.  One 
hundred  thousand  is  not  an  over-estimate  of  the 
number  of  undergraduates  in  the  higher  educa¬ 
tional  institutions. 

The  influence  of  educated  men  in  the  East 
is  best  exhibited  by  the  facts  that  in  China 
a  literary  degree  has  for  centuries  been  the 
almost  indispensable  passport  to  political  office ; 
in  Japan  it  is  said  that  the  political  movement 
which  set  up  a  new  government  in  1868,  was  a 

school-boys  revolution  ;  in  India,  the  mightiest 

28 


ASIA. 


29 


secular  agency  in  the  leveling  of  caste  is  the 
school ;  in  Turkey,  one  of  the  high  .  officials 
recently  declared  that  Robert  College  had  cost 
the  Empire  its  best  province,  Bulgaria.  If  it  be 
true  in  America  that  an  educated  man  influences 
one  hundred  times  as  many  persons  as  an  unedu¬ 
cated,  it  is  probably  true  in  Asia  that  an  educated 
man  influences  one  thousand  times  as  many  as 
an  uneducated.  Can  the  Church  of  the  West 
render  the  people  of  Asia  a  greater  service  than 
to  confer  upon  their  students  the  comprehensive 
purpose,  the  well-tried  methods  and  abundant 
results  of  the  College  Young  Men’s  Christian 
Association  ?  The  missionaries  commonly  be¬ 
lieve  that  when  those  leading  young  men  are 
fully  charged  with  the  missionary  spirit,  which  is 
the  crowning  characteristic  of  the  Association, 
they  will  sweep  the  continent  with  an  evange¬ 
listic  movement  which  will  accomplish  more  in 
a  generation  than  foreigners  can  effect  in  a  cen¬ 
tury. 

Beginning  of  the  Association  in  Asia. 

Ten  years  ago  it  was  believed  and  asserted 
that  this  Student’s  Christian  Movement  is  too 
vast  in  its  possibilities  for  good  to  be  limited  to 
any  country  or  continent.  It  did  not  enter  into 
the  mind  of  the  most  sanguine  supporter  of  the 
movement,  however,  to  conceive  of  the  rapidity 
which  was  destined  to  mark  its  spread.  To-day 


30 


ASIA. 


over  five  hundred  Student’s  Young  Men’s  Chris¬ 
tian  Associations  are  organized  in  thirteen 
countries  in  America,  Europe,  Asia  and  Africa, 
with  a  membership  exceeding  thirty  thousand. 
While  we  in  America  were  pondering  the  steps 
adapted  to  its  introduction  in  the  East,  the  Asso¬ 
ciation  sprang  up  spontaneously  in  Ceylon,  China 
and  Japan.  The  fact  that  the  associations  in  the 
first  two  countries  were  formed  with  the  assist¬ 
ance  of  Messrs.  Sanders  and  Beach,  missionaries 
to  those  countries,  was  an  earnest  of  the  prin¬ 
cipal  part  which  the  missionary  body  was  des¬ 
tined  to  perform  in  the  extension  of  the  move¬ 
ment.  Missionaries  abroad  and  missionary  sec¬ 
retaries  at  home  have  been  consulted,  and  their 
counsel  ever  deferred  to  in  the  promotion  of  the 
enterprise  from  its  very  beginning. 

Tour  of  Investigation. 

The  calls  from  missionaries  for  men  to  propa¬ 
gate  the  movement  at  the  leading  educational 
centres  of  Asia,  and  the  endorsement  of  the  call 
by  missionary  secretaries,  were  regarded  as 
strong  guarantees  of  the  feasibility  of  the  move¬ 
ment.  It  was  felt,  however,  that  nothing  short 
of  a  thorough  tour  of  investigation  would  furnish 
information  which  was  needed  to  impart  confi¬ 
dence  to  those  who  should  be  asked  to  go  to  the 
front  and  those  who  should  be  asked  to  support 
the  work  financially.  The  tour  consumed  forty- 


ASIA. 


31 


five  months,  over  thirty-one  of  which  were 
devoted  to  Japan,  China,  Malaysia,  Siam, 
Burmah,  Ceylon,  India,  Arabia,  Syria,  the  Cau¬ 
casus,  Persia,  Kurdistan,  Asia  Minor  and  Cy¬ 
prus.  A  month  was  spent  in  Egypt,  and  two 
months  in  mission  fields  in  Europe.  We  vis¬ 
ited  two  hundred  and  sixteen  mission  stations  in 
twenty  mission  lands.  Our  tour  covered  not  only 
the  points  adjacent  to  the  coast,  but  was  extended 
to  many  important  points  in  the  interior,  the 
latter  involving  overland  travel  as  far  as  from 
New  York  to  San  Francisco.  One  journey  of 
over  a  thousand  miles  was  made  in  the  saddle, 
the  route  being  from  the  southern  boundary  line 
of  Russia  across  northwestern  Persia,  Kurdistan 
and  Asia  Minor  to  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  At 
least  nine  hundred  and  sixty  missionaries  were 
met  personally,  beside  three  hundred  others  who 
were  publicly  addressed.  Thousands  of  students 
were  addressed  publicly  and  hundreds  conversed 
with  at  most  of  the  leading  educational  centres 
in  the  East.  Numerous  interviews  were  held  with 
oriental  business  men,  government  officials, 
pastors  and  church  members.  No  pains  were 
spared  to  get  at  the  exact  facts  concerning  the 
condition  of  the  new  Church  in  Asia,  and  the 
ripeness  of  the  time  for  the  organization  of  this 
new  department  of  Christian  enterprise. 


32 


ASIA. 


Conditions  Favorable  to  Spread  of  Christianity. 

Nearly  three  years’  contact  with  eastern  stu¬ 
dents  revealed  conditions  favorable  to  their 
reception  of  Christianity  if  propagated  by  stu¬ 
dents  from  the  West.  Education  is  rapidly 
depriving  them  of  their  old  religious  beliefs. 
They  are  becoming  deeply  interested  in  the 
problems  of  self-government,  and  are  impressed 
by  the  fact  that  Christianity  alone  is  the  religion 
of  self-governing  peoples.  They  are  kindly 
disposed  toward  western  students ;  the  latter 
have  given  them  their  highly  valued  educational 
systems,  and  many  eminent  educators ;  and 
they  are  not  unwilling  to  hear  what  we  have  to 
say  in  defence  of  a  religion  whose  strongholds 
are  our  universities.  The  homogeneity  of  the 
student  world  is  a  fact  of  deep  significance. 
Oriental  and  occidental  students  are  more  alike 
than  unlike.  This  is  largely  accounted  for  by 
the  fact  that  the  new  educational  systems  of 
the  Orient  were  established  and  are  still,  in  many 
quarters,  directed  by  western  educators.  Social 
and  religious  movements  may  therefore  be  ex¬ 
pected  to  spread  from  students  of  the  West  to 
those  of  the  East  more  rapidly  than  from  any 
other  class  in  the  West  to  the  corresponding 
class  in  the  East.  When  Christianity  is  once  firmly 
anchored  in  the  university  life  of  Asia,  the  spirit 
of  conservatism,  which  so  strongly  marks  oriental 
character,  will  hold  it  forever. 


ASIA. 


33 


Religious  Crisis  in  the  Universities. 

There  is  a  fact  of  terrible  import  characteristic 
of  the  present  condition  of  the,  educated  young 
men  of  Asia.  They  are  so  chagrined  to  find 
that  they  and  their  fathers  have  been  deceived 
by  false  systems  of  so-called  supernaturalism 
that  they  are  in  danger  of  completely  recoiling 
from  all  supernaturalism  ;  their  natural  tendency 
to  skepticism  is  strengthened  by  the  materialism 
which  is  setting  in  upon  them  from  the  West  like 
a  flood ;  they  will  not  wait  upon  the  slow  pace 
at  which  we  are  at  present  approaching  them 
with  the  gospel;  they  will  make  an  irrevocable 
decision  soon ;  it  is  now  or  never  for  the  edu¬ 
cated  young  men  of  Asia ;  and  as  for  the  masses 
of  the  people,  we  tremble  when  we  think  that  as 
go  the  universities  of  Asia  so  goes  Asia. 

The  following  are  but  a  few  of  the  many  facts 
which  can  be  produced  in  evidence  of  the  asser¬ 
tion  that  now  is  the  accepted  time  for  a  wide 
spread  and  aggressive  Christian  movement  among 
the  students  of  Asia. 

Christianity  in  the  Christian  Colleges. 

In  the  first  place,  Christianity  is  firmly 
intrenched  in  nearly  all  of  the  Christian  colleges 
of  Japan,  China,  Persia,  Burmah,  Ceylon,  Turkey 
and  Egypt,  and  in  some  of  those  in  India.  As 
a  rule,  the  majority  of  the  students  in  the  Chris¬ 
tian  schools  in  all  of  these  countries,  except 


34 


ASIA. 


India,  are  Christian  communicants.  You  may 
say  this  is  to  be  expected.  Very  true,  but  this 
is  a  fact  that  could  not  be  affirmed  of  our  Chris¬ 
tian  colleges  in  America  at  the  beginning  of  the 
century. 

Christianity  in  the  Government  Colleges. 

Again,  the  number  of  Christians  in  at  least 
seven  of  the  leading  government  colleges  of 
Japan  is  greater  than  were  found  in  our  leading 
Christian  colleges  a  century  ago  ;  careful  inquiry 
revealed  the  fact  that  one-fourteenth  of  the  three 
thousand  students  in  the  seven  most  prominent 
government  colleges  in  Japan  were  Christian  men. 

Readiness  of  Students  to  Accept  Christ. 

I  found  a  readiness  on  the  part  of  students, 
especially  in  Japan,  which  I  have  rarely  seen 
equaled  in  America,  to  respond  to  the  appeal  to 
accept  Christ  as  Lord  and  Saviour.  At  the  close 
of  a  series  of  addresses  followed  by  personal 
interviews,  in  the  Doshisha  University  in  Kyoto, 
one  hundred  and  three  students  in  one  day  were, 
after  careful  examination,  admitted  to  the  Church, 
and  forty  more  on  the  next  communion  Sabbath  ; 
thirty  took  a  similar  stand  at  the  Union  College 
in  Tokyo,  and  twenty-five  in  the  preparatory 
school  in  Kumamoto.  Seven  students  made  a 
public  confession  of  Christ  in  the  Methodist 
College  in  Foochow,  China.  There  were  also 
conversions  in  colleges  in  India,  Ceylon  and 
Asia  Minor  sufficient  to  justify  the  belief  that  a 


ASIA. 


35 


wide-spread  and  well -organized  evangelistic 
movement,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Associa¬ 
tion  conducted  by  the  students  themselves,  will 
be  most  fruitful  in  results.  I  have  never  known 
of  an  all-night  students’  prayer  meeting  in 
America,  but  such  a  meeting  was  held  during 
my  visit  in  Kumamoto,  unknown  to  me  until  the 
following  morning. 

Ripeness  for  Organization. 

The  students  of  Asia  are  ripe  for  organization. 
There  are  already  forty-two  Students’  Young 
Men’s  Christian  Associations  in  Asia,  fifteen  of 
which  are  in  Japan,  eleven  of  them  in  Japanese 
government  colleges ;  the  balance  are  scattered 
through  China,  India,  Ceylon,  Syria,  Persia, 
Kurdistan  and  Asia  Minor.  The  Association  is 
the  only  Christian  agency  thus  far  tolerated  in 
government  schools.  The  most  thoroughly 
organized  students’  association  visited  by  me  is 
in  Tungchou,  near  Peking ;  in  addition  to  all  of 
the  departments  of  work  usually  organized  in 
behalf  of  the  students  in  the  college,  this  asso¬ 
ciation  of  Chinese  students  conducts  a  foreign 
missionary  meeting  every  month,  to  study  the 
progress  of  Christianity  throughout  the  world ; 
they  have  become  so  interested  in  the  cause  that 
they  have  assumed  the  support  of  a  student  in  a 
school  in  Africa,  who  is  preparing  for  a  life  of 
Christian  work  among  his  people.  Napoleon 


36 


ASIA. 


said:  “Whoever  moves  China  will  move  the 
world.”  Christ  is  moving  China,  and  already  a 
little  section  of  China  is  beginning  to  move  a 
section  of  the  Dark  Continent. 

It  was  my  privilege  to  cooperate  with  David 
McConaughy  in  introducing  this  work  to  the 
students  of  India.  We  began  by  visiting  small 
groups  of  students  in  the  various  colleges  in 
Madras;  we  said  to  them:  “Fellow  students, 
thirty  centuries  ago  our  Aryan  fathers  dwelt 
together  as  brothers  in  the  same  tents  in  Central 
Asia.  After  many  generations  of  fellowship 
they  separated ;  our  fathers  journeyed  westward 
and  overspread  Europe  and  the  then  undiscov¬ 
ered  country  of  America  ;  your  fathers  journeyed 
southward  down  the  slopes  of  the  Himalayas  and 
peopled  Hindustan.  We  have  come  to  know  in 
recent  years  that  you  are  our  brothers ;  that  the 
same  racial  blood  unites  us ;  and  we  have  had  a 
great  longing  to  see  you  and  renew  the  old  asso¬ 
ciations  which  our  fathers  had  a  hundred  genera¬ 
tions  ago.  Will  you  receive  us,  and  shall  we  not 
unite  in  a  fellowship  which  even  death  cannot 
break  ?  and  shall  we  not  work  together  for  the 
eternal  welfare  of  the  young  men  of  India  and 
America  and  the  world  ?  They  did  receive  us  ; 
I  have  never  had  a  warmer  greeting.  A  few 
nights  later  we  held  a  large  meeting  in  one  of  the 
largest  halls  of  the  city ;  it  was  filled  with  a 


ASIA. 


37 


splendid  audience  of  the  best  young  men  of 
Madras.  The  meeting  was  opened  by  singing 
“All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus’  name!”  and  as  the 
students  of  India  sang  it  that  night,  to  the  old 
English  tune,  and  the  words  rang  out  again  and 
again,  “Crown  Him!  crown  Him!  crown  Him! 
crown  Him  Lord  of  All !  ”  it  was  a  shout  of  tri¬ 
umph.  I  thought  of  Cromwell’s  soldiers  singing 
as  they  went  into  battle,  and  felt  that  if  India’s 
young  men  would  enter  the  great  spiritual  con¬ 
flict  before  them  with  the  faith  of  the  old  Iron¬ 
sides  the  battle  would  be  short  and  the  victory 
sure. 

National  Organization. 

The  readiness  of  the  students  of  Asia  for  na¬ 
tional  organization  is  a  sign  of  great  promise. 
The  first  National  Conference  of  students  in  Asia 
I  conducted  in  Kyoto,  Japan  during  the  summer 
of  1889.  Five  hundred  men  were  present,  repre¬ 
senting  ten  government  and  twelve  Christian  col¬ 
leges  ;  the  conference  has  been  maintained  an¬ 
nually,  and  there  are  now  two  conferences,  one  in 
the  central  and  one  in  the  southern  island.  India 
has  a  national  convention  and  organization ;  Cey¬ 
lon  has  the  same ;  I  also  conducted  similar  con¬ 
ferences  in  Persia  and  Asia  Minor. 

During  the  past  five  years  there  have  been 
fourteen  conferences  in  Asia,  with  an  attendance 
of  at  least  twenty-one  hundred  educated  young 


ASIA. 


38 

men,  representing  not  less  than  forty-five  col¬ 
leges.  The  influences  proceeding  from  such  meet¬ 
ings  along  the  lives  of  such  men  are  simply  ines¬ 
timable. 

Guarantees  of  Permanence. 

The  human  agencies  through  which  the  Spirit 
of  God  is  evidently  moving  to  insure  the  perma¬ 
nence  of  this  movement  are : 

First,  men  who  are  commissioned  by  the  Inter¬ 
national  Committee  of  Young  Men’s  Christian  As¬ 
sociations  of  North  America  to  organize  and  de¬ 
velop  the  Association.  Messrs.  Swift  and  Miller 
in  Japan,  McConaughy  and  White  in  India,  and 
Clark  in  Brazil,  are  the  advance  guard  of  a  band 
of  at  least  twenty-five  men  who  are  and  soon 
will  be  called  to  occupy  the  strategic  educational 
centres  in  Asia,  Africa  and  South  America.  With 
openings  for  twenty-five  men  already  in  sight,  we 
must  be  prepared  to  respond  to  calls  for  several 
times  that  number  should  the  increasing  needs  of 
the  work  demand  them. 

Five  men  are  needed  at  once  for  Peking  and 
Shanghai,  China ;  Madras,  India ;  Ceylon  and 
Asiatic  Turkey.  China  has  waited  two  years  and 
Ceylon  three.  The  men  can  be  found  if  the 
money  can  be  secured. 

Buildings  are  being  secured,  which  are  a  guar¬ 
antee  of  permanence.  Bombay,  India ,  Osaka, 
Japan,  and  Aintab,  Asia  Minor,  have  good  build- 


ASIA. 


39 


ings,  and  Tokyo  soon  will  have  two  buildings,  one 
for  students  and  one  for  young  business  men. 
There  are  also  one  or  two  other  buildings  and  build¬ 
ings  enterprises,  one  in  Kyoto,  Japan. 

The  most  urgent  need  along  this  line  is  in 
Madras,  India,  where  a  building  not  to  exceed 
thirty  thousand  dollars  in  cost,  is  needed, 
which  will  serve  not  only  as  a  home  for  the 
association,  but  a  training  school  to  prepare 
Indian  young  men  for  the  general  secretary¬ 
ships  of  the  large  number  of  associations  which 
are  rapidly  forming  throughout  the  empire. 
The  building  fund  for  Tokyo  was  headed 
by  a  subscription  of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars, 
the  gift  of  a  business  man  in  the  South.  Where  is  the 
man  who  will  start  the  Madras  building  fund  with 
a  liberal  contribution  ?  An  urgent  call  also  comes 
from  Tokyo  for  fifteen  hundred  dollars  for  the  erec¬ 
tion  of  a  Christian  boarding  house  for  students  ;  the 
city  is  thronged  with  students  from  country  towns, 
who  fall  easy  prey  to  the  immoral  influences  sur¬ 
rounding  the  tea  houses.  A  building  rented  for 
this  purpose  has  proved  so  helpful  in  guarding 
young  men  that  a  permanent  home  is  now  asked 
for ;  are  there  not  men  whose  boys  have  been 
reclaimed  or  guarded  from  a  life  of  shame  by  the 
Association  in  America  who  will  make  a  thank- 
offering  by  providing  the  students  of  Tokyo  with 
several  such  homes  ? 


40 


ASIA. 


Purpose  of  Movement  Hlustrated. 

The  purpose  of  this  movement  is  best  illus¬ 
trated  by  an  incident  which  occurred  one  evening 
at  the  close  of  a  large  meeting  of  students  which 
I  had  addressed  in  Osaka,  Japan.  As  I  walked 
to  the  station  in  company  with  a  couple  of  mis¬ 
sionaries,  I  overheard  rapid  footsteps  approaching 
us,  and  looking  around  I  saw  a  young  man,  a  stu¬ 
dent,  trying  to  overtake  us ;  when  he  reached  us 
he  began  talking  in  eager  tones  ;  in  response  to 
my  request  one  of  the  missionaries  interpreted  his 
inquiry.  He  asked,  “Who  is  that  Wonderful  Per¬ 
son?  How  can  I  learn  more  about  Him?”  I 
had  been  speaking  of  the  early  ministry  of  our 
Lord  and  His  contact  with  young  men.  It  ap¬ 
peared  that  the  youth  had  never  clearly  heard  of 
the  Saviour,  and  my  address  being  directed  to 
Christians,  had  not  explained  to  him  His  divine 
character,  nor  had  he  retained  His  name ;  so  like 
the  old  prophet,  he  called  Him  “Wonderful” — 
“that  Wonderful  Person.”  He  was  invited  to  at¬ 
tend  a  Bible  class  conducted  by  one  of  the  mis¬ 
sionaries,  and  when  I  next  visited  Osaka  I  heard 
that  the  young  man  was  learning  that  He  whom 
he  called  “Wonderful”  is  “the  Mighty  God,  the 
Everlasting  Father,  the  Prince  of  Peace.”  The 
mission  of  the  Association  will  not  be  fulfilled  un¬ 
til  the  name  and  work  of  that  Wonderful  Person 
shall  have  been  declared  to  every  young  man 
throughout  the  world. 


ASIA. 


41 


Evangelization  of  All  Young  Men. 

The  relation  of  this  students’  movement  to  all 
young  men  is  a  matter  upon  which  my  theme 
forbids  me  to  enter.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the 
movement  contemplates  the  enlistment  of  the 
educated  young  men  in  a  well  organized,  wide¬ 
spread  effort  in  behalf  of  all  classes  of  young 
men.  Already  one  hundred  and  forty  of  the 
one  hundred  and  eighty-five  associations  in  non- 
Christian  lands  are  outside  of  the  universities. 
The  secretaries  whom  the  International  Com¬ 
mittee  has  sent  out  are  charged  with  definite 
responsibility  in  behalf  of  the  young  business 
men  as  well  as  students.  The  National  Council 
of  Great  Britain  has  also  sent  out  two  men,  one 
to  Bombay,  and  one  to  Egypt  and  Palestine,  to 
organize  work  among  this  class.  Already  two 
university  graduates,  Mr.  Bulbulian  of  Asiatic 
Turkey,  and  Mr.  Niwa  of  Japan,  are  devoting 
themselves  to  the  general  secretaryship  of  the 
Young  Men’s  Christian  Associations  in  the  cities 
of  Aintab  and  Tokyo.  These  pioneer  secretaries 
will  doubtless  be  followed  by  many  others  as  the 
work  advances. 

Men  Whose  Hearts  God  Has  Touched. 

The  marvelous  opportunity  confronting  us 
calls  for  two  bands  of  consecrated  men :  first,  a 
limited  number  who  can  go  to  the  front  and  hold 
the  most  important  centres  of  influence,  the 


42 


ASIA. 


universities ;  second,  a  much  larger  band  of  men, 
who,  while  possessing  the  spirit  of  obedience 
which  takes  men  to  the  front,  are  willing  to  re¬ 
main  at  the  base  of  supplies,  and  give  to  the 
support  of  the  work  until  they  feel  the  sacrifice 
of  giving  as  keenly  as  the  other  class  feel  the 
sacrifice  of  going. 

With  two  such  bands  of  “men  whose  hearts 
God  has  touched,”  a  preliminary  work  can  be 
accomplished  before  the  old  century  is  rung  out 
which  will  insure  the  evangelization  of  the 
world  by  the  Church  of  the  first  generation  of 
the  twentieth  century. 


‘ 


■ 


